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@itinerantes @stent ffice,

IMPROVBD METHOD or PRBPARING SOLE-LEATHER rea Boers AND shoes.

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T0 ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, DAVID M. AYnIt, of Lewistown, in the county of Androscoggin, and State of Maine, have invented a new and useful Method of Preparing Sole-Leather for 'the Soles of Boots and Shoes, so as to form air-cells between the outer and inner soles; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of said method and the mode of carrying it into eleet,'refereuce being had to the accompanying drawings, 'and to 'the letters of reference marked thereon.

The object of this invention is so to prepare the leather for the inner soles of boots and shoes that when the soles are put on in the ordinary way there will be air-cells between the outer and inner soles, to secure ventilation, and a more uniform temperature to the foot than is secured by a boot or shoe constructed in the ordinary way. I have filed an application for Letters Patent for an improvement in boots and shoes, which improvement consists in part in forming air-cells between the outer and inner soles, and the object of this invention is to prepare sole-leather to be used in carrying said improvement into effect.

The nature of this invention consists in eorrugating or fluting the sole-leather on one side, by running it7 while damp, through a pair of iron rolls, one of which is corrugated or uted so as to make the desired impression in,the leather, and afterwards drying the leather between heated metal plates, under pressure, one of said plates being uted or corrugated in a similar manner to the uted roll which made'the' impression in the leather. In the accompanying drawings- Figure is an end view of a machine for corrugating or Huting the leather.

. Figure 2 is a side view of the same.

Figure 3 is an end view of the rolls through which-the leather is passed, shown detached from the machine.

Figure 4 is a side view of the metal plates between which the leather is pressed and dried after passing through the rolls. v

Figures 5 and 6 represent the inner faces of said plates respectively, one being smooth and the other corrugated or fluted.

m mis the frame which supports the rolls, B and P. B is a fluted metallic roll, the journals of which rest in boxes in the frame m m, not-shown in the drawings. These flutes or eorrugations may be straight, as shown in the drawings, or may be curved or made to form one or more angles. P is a smooth metallic roll resting upon the top of B; and tig. l, is a cap or box resting on top of the journal of P. w w are screws working in the top of the frame m m, on the top of the box t, by which the requisite pressure between the rolls B and P is obtained. it is a gear on the journal of the roll B, into which a driving-piniomis introduced for the purpose ci' driving the machine. S is a gear on the opposite end of the roll-d3, which works into the gear n, on the journal of a roll P, to drive said roll P.V Rolls B and P are of equal diameters. Gears S and n have each an equal number of cogs, which gives equal velocity to both rolls. The cogs on gears S and 1tl are made long, so as to 'admit of 'roll P being raised as may be required by the thickness of the leather to be iluted, without being thrown out of gear. The leather being suflciently softened by dampening, is passed through the rolls under su'licient pressure to form flutes or corrugations corresponding to those ou the periphery of roll B. It is then placed between the metallic plates shown in iig. 4, the same having been previously heated to aimoderate degree, so that they will not only dry the leather, but harden the corrugations by partial charring. The leather is permitted to remain between said plates, under pressure, until thoroughly dry, when the raised corrugations will be found so hard and horny that they will retain their shape permanently, and not flatten or cripple downin use. Said plates'may be heated in an oven or by hot water or steam, but I prefer' heating them by steam. If theseplates are made too large to be conveniently handled, they may be made hollow and heated by the introduction of steam into the cavities. l

Having thus fully described my invention and the mode of`carrying it into efect, what I claim as new, and4 desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The method herein described of preparing sole-leather for the construction of boots and Ashoes with aircells between the outer and inner soles.

2. I claim, as an article of manufacture and sale, sole-leather corrugated or tinted and hardened, substantially as described.

D. M. AYER.

Witnesses:

J. T. CooMs, Jos. L. Cocaine. 

